This copy is for your personal non-commercial use only. To order presentation-ready copies of Toronto Star content for distribution to colleagues, clients or customers, or inquire about permissions/licensing, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com

5 questions the Bruins have to answer in Game 3

The Stanley Cup Final shifts to Boston with Vancouver leading two games to none. As close as the games have been, this to some, has the feel of a sweep.

Vancouver Canucks winger Alex Burrows is all smiles during practice for the Stanley Cup final in Vancouver on June 3, 2011. (MIKE BLAKE / REUTERS)

By Kevin McGranSports Reporter

Mon., June 6, 2011

The Stanley Cup Final shifts to Boston with Vancouver leading two games to none. As close as the games have been, this to some, has the feel of a sweep.

It’s kind of like the Tampa-Washington second-round series — three really close games, all won by Tampa — then the Capitals capitulated.

We'll see if the Bruins have any more life than that.

The Bruins did answer some questions in Game 2 — Zdeno Chara moved back to the point on the power play, their power play scored, Roberto Luongo proved to be human after all and Tim Thomas continued to be a wandering minstrel. He didn’t take an interference penalty, but his wandering ways did cost the Bruins in overtime.

The Bruins meanwhile had no answer for Vancouver’s Alex Burrows, who brings us to our first of five big questions for Game 3:

Article Continued Below

1. Is Alex Burrows going to be the most-hated man in Boston?

The Bruins run the risk of losing their focus on the game if they start thinking about what Burrows has done to them through two games. After Burrows got off scot-free for biting Patrice Bergeron’s finger in Game 1, he returned in Game 2 to score two goals — including the OT winner — and added an assist.

And in case you missed it, teammate Max Lapierre then offered his finger to Bergeron midway through the second period. If anybody’s in the Bruins head, it’s Burrows. “For me, I just think that Alex gets the game,” says coach Alain Vigneault. “He understands not only the game on the ice but he understands the game off the ice. I think that’s why he’s been able to make himself into a very good hockey player.”

2. Can the Bruins rally like they did against Montreal?

They were down 2-0 in the opening round, people started talking like coach Claude Julien was going to lose his job, or GM Peter Chiarelli would be fired. Then they calmly went out and won four of the next five.

“Now is not the time to squeeze your stick and to panic,” said Bergeron. “It’s time to go back to what’s been giving us success. Obviously putting pucks in deep, having a forecheck is one of them. Squeezing our sticks is not going to help us at all. We’ve got to go out there, play our game, make sure we play loose, and at the same time play hard and desperate.”

3. Is there no end to the depth on the Canucks?

Out goes Dan Hamhuis, in comes Andrew Alberts who bangs his way through the Bruins in Game 2. Out goes Keith Ballard, and Christian Erhoff returns. The Canucks seventh and eighth defencemen are as good as any top six in the NHL. That’s not even talking about inserting Manny Malhotra and his magnificent faceoff majesty in Game 2.

4. Whatever happened to Tyler Seguin?

For that matter, what’s happened to Boston’s secondary scoring? Seguin got six points in his first two playoff games — vs. Tampa — but has produced no offence in his next seven games. Boston’s big guns — Milan Lucic, Nathan Horton and David Krejci — have carried their load, but you can’t win without offence from surprising players and so far, none of the Bruins secondary scorers have surprised. Chris Kelly hasn’t scored since May 2. Bergeron and Michael Ryder haven’t scored in five games.

5. Who will be the Bruins flag-bearer?

This is a fun part of Boston’s pre-game hype. They bring out a big name from the past waving a Boston flag, the crowd sees their hero and the already loud TD Garden gets even louder.

We haven’t seen Bobby Orr yet. Perhaps the home crowd can give the Bruins a lift. The Bruins lost their first two home games of the playoffs to Montreal (and rallied to win the series) but are 7-1 at home since.

“Well we need it. We definitely need it,” said Lucic. “We need to feed off their energy, we need to feed off their emotion.”

Delivered dailyThe Morning Headlines Newsletter

The Toronto Star and thestar.com, each property of Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, One Yonge Street, 4th Floor, Toronto, ON, M5E 1E6. You can unsubscribe at any time. Please contact us or see our privacy policy for more information.

More from the Toronto Star & Partners

LOADING

Copyright owned or licensed by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or distribution of this content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Toronto Star Newspapers Limited and/or its licensors. To order copies of Toronto Star articles, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com